When Nora was very young, she used to see rainbow-coloured animals in the periphery of her vision. This is something that came to her like a dream, yet it wasn't a dream. Now, as she's somewhat older, she's starting to see the animals again. What they mean to her is a mystery. What she does know is that her mum is suffering, some days are good, some are bad and some are really bad. Her mum has PTSD, and Nora tries her best to keep things running as smooth as she can in a home that seems more and more unstable by the day. When she meets Kwame, she finds a kindred spirit, and together they seek out the mystery of the rainbow-coloured animals that Nora sees. This is a heartbreaking novel. It is also a novel full of hope, anyone who has lived with someone with PTSD will instantly connect to it. Anyone who has ever felt lost or uncomfortable in their own skin will also feel a connection. It takes look at denial, grief, sadness, hopelessness and helps you as a reader make sense of it. I loved it, essential reading for ages 10+.
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Paige works on her high school newspaper, she enjoys the idea of being a reporter but struggles with the fake school garbage that surrounds her. not only that, she's been asked to work on the school yearbook. Attached to this are some awfully mean students, Grace & Laura for example. These two make a point to highlight the embarrassing moments of others, they want these toxic moments put in the yearbook, making Paige's life even harder. In addition, Paige's home life is a mess. Her father is a monster, the entire family has to walk on eggshells around him. Her brother, Adam, is the one the family adores, but he's gone off to university, leaving the brunt of her father's insecurities and outrage on Paige and her mother. Paige's only solace is her aunt Polly and someone else, a mysterious stranger in her school who leaves messages written in red ink in her assigned reading. Desperate to find out who it is, Paige tries to find out who she is at the same time, because nobody in her immediate life seems to care. The Yearbook is a searing look at the toxicity of high school, the social pressures that pile up along with the educational ones. In addition, it has some very real moments regarding family tensions. Her father is a brutal ogre but his sinister nature isn't all yelling and breaking things, it's the subtle ways the family must dance around him, creating prepared statements for him, readying the house before he gets home. This is how people must deal with a true narcissist, and true narcissism is a very, very scary thing to behold. Holly Bourne is a master at writing for the teenage heart in all its broken glory. I highly recommend this for ages 13 and up! Sarah is a young teen who is obsessed with basketball. She wants to be the best, because being the best is what makes her feel like she's important, like she matters. However, she's got a problem, she's no longer as fast as she used to be. Her legs feel sluggish, she sometimes feels lightheaded, it's like her body is fighting against her. It doesn't help that Sarah has a secret, her mother doesn't feed her well. Sometimes there is food in the fridge, sometimes there isn't. Sometimes Sarah has to reach into the bottom of her backpack and eat a crushed granola bar for breakfast. Her mother hides candy throughout the house and will occasionally only eat that. Sarah's friends know her mother is "weird" about food but they don't know how far it goes. Sarah has lists in her head of the good food and bad food, most of the "bad" food is food that her friends would consider healthy, but not Sarah, and definitely not her mother. Sarah decides the only way to get better at basketball is to lose eight and meticulously count her calories, because skinnier means healthier, right? When Sarah decides to join a cooking competition with the boy she likes, her issues with food come to the forefront. Taking Up Space brought to light an issue that I have had no experience with and that is a great thing to discover as a reader and more importantly as someone who works with teenagers. This novel sheds light on eating disorders in a way that is informative and never heavy handed. It's also a great story about friendship, competition, familial pressure and more. The clique that Sarah once belonged to largely abandons her because of gossip and misunderstandings. I felt myself getting outraged on Sarah's behalf, it's hard to know that there many children out there going day to day with these kinds of challenges around food. I feel this novel is a wake up call and it is important that teens and adults read it. As with all of Alyson's novels, I will be championing this one in the library, I know the students will engage and connect with Sarah immediately. Highly recommended for ages 11 and up! What lengths are you willing to go to in order to see a lost loved one again? Jamal and Quincy are inseparable friends, it's like they share a brain. They love comedy, too, they make their own videos and even start to gather a following. Then they have a falling out after Jamal experiences unspeakable grief. One night, at a party, Jamal and Q try to hash things out but it doesn't go to plan and they end up at each other's throat again. That's when another tragedy occurs, Q drowns and Jamal is unable to save him. Rushed to the hospital, Q's mother and Jamal are told something extraordinary. What if the technology existed to bring Q back, for just a little while. It hits them like a sledgehammer. What if they could see Q again, he'd be his same old self, he wouldn't have a memory of the accident, but Jamal and Q's mother, and only them, would know that Q would die again quite soon. Forever Ends On Friday poses a question that many of us who have experienced loss crave, just another day or two with those we loved, but would you actually do it if you had the chance? This is a novel of profound loss, friendship, heartache and laughter. It's a book that will stay with you long after reading it. Q and Jamal's friendship is burned deep into the pages of this book, it's as authentic as any YA friendship I've read in a long time. Each character is complex and real and lives a full life within this novel. It's a story that's full of laughs, too, their comedic timing is perfect, this should be on every librarian's shelf, a unique YA novel that deserves a lot of attention. Ages 14+. Mina travels to New Orleans from the UK to visit her sister. Their relationship has been strained, to say the least. Mina is a walking horror film encyclopedia, so when she lands a position a horror movie mansion, scaring tourists who pay to see their favourite scenes reenacted, it's like a dream come true. Even better, she meets Jared, her sister's roommate whom she starts to develop feelings for. Then the murders start happening. Not only murders, but bizarre ones that eerily resemble vampire killings and New Orleans' most brutal murders from the past. Someone is out there, trying to frame them, trying to kill them, and it's up to Mina and her new friends to put a stop to it once and for all. Mina Vs The Undead is a sharp YA horror chalk full of great '90s references. It contains tight twists and a great cast of characters. It is clear that a lot of research on New Orleans and its colourful and often dark history has been conducted here. At the high school library I manage, students are always clamouring for great horror and I can't wait to get this into their hands! Recommended for ages 14+ Sami is a typical teen, he like to play football with his friends and relax on the Playstation. When a bomb destroys a mall near his home in Syria, it's the final straw for his parents. They make the fateful decision to try and make the voyage to the UK. What follows is a harrowing trip with Turkish smugglers, deadly sea trips and eventually an immigration prison. Along the way Sami witnesses extreme poverty, racism, madness but also hope and generosity. Boy, Everywhere should be required reading in secondary schools. It hits with a tidal wave like force, bringing the plight of refugees to the forefront in a nuanced way that is subtle and shocking at the same time. Sami, dealing with not only the physical dangers of being a refugee, also has to cope with the psychological torture he endures on a daily basis. He blames himself for a lot of what has happened to his family. He sees his father withering away, his sister stops speaking after witnessing the horrors in the shopping mall and his mother is left frayed and despondent. The reality of what refugees have to go through is much more than what we're told and what we think they go through. This novel brings it home, it's an important read that deserves all of the attention it's getting. Ages 11+. Marjorie is thirteen and has adult responsibilities. Her dad suffers from depression and doesn't really leave his room very much. Her mum passes away which means she's in charge of the family laundromat. She has to endure rude customers and one in particular who is keen on buying the place up and converting it into a yoga resort. Wendell is a ghost who is learning the ropes when it comes to ghost world rules. He's not supposed to be in Marjorie's laundromat at all, but he can't resist it. When the two meet, they realise that they might be able to help each other out. I really enjoyed Sheets, it has a melancholic, dreamy feel throughout it, perfect for a late September read. I loved how Marjorie carries on through the pain, even though you know that no thirteen year old should have to endure such hardships. It's a brilliant comic book that should not be missed! All Ross wants is to be a normal seventh grade kid, but when he's diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer, he becomes thrust in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. With the help of his new friends at the hospital and his lifelong friend at school, he tries his best to distract himself against one wave of bad news after another. Ross develops a love of music and continues his love of drawing and comic books but will it be enough to stop him from snapping under the stress? Wink is a really lovely story with real humour and a strong heart. It's sad, realistic and at the same time doesn't sugar coat how terrible life can be sometimes. I loved how Harrell developed Ross' relationships with the people who work at the hospital and especially the school bully. All of the characters have real depth to them, it's a book that will be a sure hit with our students, recommended highly for ages 10+. isJoe and Imogen are meant to be together. At least that's what Joe thinks. There are signs that she's not always interested in him, she sometimes makes him feel like he's not good enough. Joe's dealing with some major issues at home, his dad has suddenly become very ill and he's dealing with an increasingly agitated and unpredictable Imogen. Things get weird, in that Imogen becomes angry if Joe does better on exams than her, she blames him for things that aren't his fault. Imogen's got issues at home too, her father is a downright scary figure, unpredictable, intimidating. When a tragic accident happens, Joe's life hangs in the balance, he's facing major prison time, something Imogen is more than happy to let happen. As the trial proceeds, we see flashbacks on Joe and Imogens' real relationship, and what actually happened on that terrible night. Written in verse, WRECKED is another powerful story by Louisa Reid. Joe's situation is terrifying, you can feel yourself standing in his shoes, sweating in the courthouse, hearing everyone tell the judge who you are, when nobody actually knows or cares about the truth. You will fly through Wrrecked, not only because you will need to know what happens, but it's got a pace to it that's truly something else, like a speeding car racing towards an unknown future. I highly recommend Wrecked for ages 13+, get your hands on it and get it into your libraries today! Donte wishes nobody could see him, especially Alan, the bully at school that taunts him. As one of the only black students in his new private school, nobody looks like him and everybody seems to notice him for the wrong reasons. Even his teachers subconsciously select him as the "problem" student even when he isn't. When Alan gets Donte into trouble, and then arrested, Donte is led out of school by the police. Released from jail, his parents furious at the system and completely broken, Donte discovers redemption through fencing and a coach that teaches him a lot about life. This is another powerful book by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Donte's arrest highlights a real threat in America, black students going from high school to prison in a highly organised and deliberate system. Donte's struggle is one that many black students face in the United States. This is an important book, like her previous work, Ghost Boys, and I'm very excited to introduce it to our students in September. Highly recommended for ages 11+. |
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